Evaluating self-medication practices in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Self-medication with antibiotics has become an important factor driving antibiotic resistance and it masks the signs and symptoms of the underlying disease and hence complicates the problem, increasing drug resistance and delaying diagnosis. This study aimed to assess the extent of self-medication practice with antibiotics and its associated factors among adult patients attending outpatient departments (OPD) at selected public Hospitals, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHODS: Facility-based cross-sectional study was employed. A systematic random sampling technique was used to include the study participants. Self-administered with structured questionnaires were applied among patients who visited outpatient departments at selected public Hospitals, in Addis Ababa. Data were entered into Epi-data version 4.6 and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used for the present categorical data. The data are presented in pie charts, tables, and bar graphs. Furthermore, bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify significant associations. Statistical significance was declared at p value < 0.05. RESULTS: Out of 421 respondents interviewed, 403 (95.7%) participants completed questionnaires. Among the respondents, 71% had generally practiced self-medication. Among these, 48.3% had self-medication with antibiotics, while 51.7% had used other drugs. The most commonly cited indication for self-medication practice was abdominal pain 44.9%, followed by Sore throat 21% commonly used antibiotics are amoxicillin (57%), ciprofloxacin (13%), amoxicillin/clavulanic (10%), erythromycin (8%), cotrimoxazole (7%), and doxycycline (5%). CONCLUSIONS: Self-medication with antibiotics was common among the study participants. The prevalence of general self-medication was 71%, whereas that of self-medication with antibiotics was 48.3%. In general, the potentially dangerous effects of SMP seem to be underestimated by patients with OPD patients.